The Rushing Rivers Story (Naruto Secrets)
by TheFemaleReviewer
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke are on another adventure! Except this time...there are some DIRE consequences. The duo has fallen off of cliff and are stuck on a island where it's super cold, it always rains, and it's so foggy that there is almost ZERO visibility. The stakes are high and tensions are wearing thin! Even worse...something's REALLY wrong with Sasuke! (Shounen-Ai)


"I'm going to kill you, you stupid idiot!"

It was around dusk. At the edge of a small village, squirrels herded their acorns and nuts into the little hovels to get ready for night. Birds at the top of rocky crests, snuggled deep into their beds made of branches. On a very strong river at the very bottom of the rocky crest, beavers took a quick bath before the sky went dark, basking in the afternoon breeze.

"I really will kill you!"

"Ha-ha! You'll have to catch me first!"

Quick, heavy footsteps galloped past the squirrel's hovel. A sharp object was flung, the target dodged it and instead, it hit near the top of the rocky crest where the birds crowded for bed.

"Hey! You bastard! You were really trying to hit me!"

"Get your ass back here!"

All the animals in the shallow grassland seemed to peek out of their little homes as the footsteps rushed by.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki!" shouted one of the voices. "The fastest runner in history!"

"Dammit, Naruto! Get your stupid ass back here!" yelled the other voice.

The boy named Naruto did the exact opposite and sped up. Then he turned around as he ran and stuck his tongue out at the black haired boy gaining speed behind him.

"Aw, does little baby Sasuke Uchiha want this?" he asked dangling a headband in front of him.

The head band was navy blue with a silver plate on the front which had the symbol of a leaf etched onto it. Naruto, who was still running backward, had no idea about the dangers behind him. The boys had been slowly, but certainly running uphill the entire time, at the end of the upward journey lay an extremely tall cliff. As the boys neared, one of the squirrels from before, who for some reason remembered an acorn he dropped, ran quickly to retrieve it. He whipped around Naruto's legs and startled him. Naruto jumped up and backward, and then, far too late, realized there was no ground beneath him. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The squirrel scurried away. The headband on Naruto's head caught in a branch and stuck on it. The one in his hand which belonged to the other boy, flew out into the sky and headed westward where it plunged into the strong river current over there. Naruto's eyes were wide and filled with terror, the boy who had been chasing him mirrored his look of terror and suddenly, as if he got some strange burst of energy, sped up, grabbed Naruto's hand and hung on.

Slowly, things readjusted. Sasuke was hanging from the cliff holding as hard as he could onto the hand of a boy who was in a dire situation. Naruto was becoming hysterical. He glanced down at the broad forest below him and the rushing river to his immediate left. Even if he happened to fall into the river, he would probably drown from the rushing currents…that is, if he wasn't cut into pieces by the sharp, jagged rocks he may hit on the way down there.

"Sasuke!" he exclaimed.

Sasuke was holding onto Naruto's one hand with both of his hands straining to steady their weight.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted again.

Sasuke couldn't bear to speak. Already, his grip on Naruto was slipping and even if he did hang onto him, Naruto's weight was pulling them both down. In a matter of seconds, they could both be at the bottom of the cliff. Naruto struggled to pull himself up. His jerky movements only pulled Sasuke down further which slimed their chances of survival even more so.

"Try…to…climb up." Sasuke ordered through gritted teeth.

Naruto placed his feet against the rocky cliff.

"Use chakra." Sasuke ordered.

Suddenly, something seemed to occur to Naruto.

"Right!" Naruto huffed. "Like climbing trees."

Naruto struggled to gather his chakra. After a couple of seconds, a looks of despair crossed his face.

"I can't weave signs like this…" Naruto whispered.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"I can't weave signs with you holding my hands like this!" He yelled at him.

Sasuke was slipping even further, now his entire torso was over the edge of the cliff. He was only hanging onto the mountain by the edge of his shoes. After another second or so, Naruto sighed.

"Sasuke…" he said, then he locked eyes with him. "Let go of my hands."

"You stay quiet for all that time and that's the best you can come up with?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"I'm serious." He said. "I think I can make enough clones to throw myself back up if you let me go, or I can gather enough chakra to climb up."

"No." Sasuke said simply.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"We're not doing that."

Naruto tried to yank away from him which only created more difficulty as Sasuke slipped further.

"You're gonna fall!" Naruto warned.

Sasuke sighed.

"Fine…whatever." Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded.

"Alright…" Naruto said, preparing himself. "3…2…"

"1." Sasuke finished.

He let go. Naruto fell from the top of the cliff, put his hands together in a sign weaving formation and produced ten clones which succeeded in throwing him back up. He grabbed onto the rocks and grinned up at Sasuke who looked down only a couple feet above him. As Naruto began to climb up, the rocks, which are already old and unsteady, rumbled and began to come loose. Naruto grabbed at the rocks as fast as he could but, like an avalanche, they all fell down and him along with them. He tried making more clones but so much had fallen off the face of the mountain, there was nothing left to hold onto.

Panic struck. His feet kicked at the rocks and his arms flailed around. A shrill cry burst from between his lips and he fell backwards toward the vast forest beneath him…

Like lightening, something whipped past his left side. He followed it downward to see that it was Sasuke. He'd used chakra to jump from the top of the mountain at enough speed to beat Naruto down. He grabbed onto one of the highest tree branches, swung back up, and collided with Naruto. His feat disturbed the pressure of Naruto's fall and they stabilized in midair for a second before they continued plunging back down to the bottom of the vast forest. Sasuke plunged a kunai knife into a tree trying to break their fall but the knife broke. Naruto put an arm out, trying to summon chakra to his hands and grab on for dear life but he was falling too fast to grasp the trees. Out of nowhere, a giant rocky overhang appeared beneath them and they both crashed onto it. Sasuke rolled off and to the left and Naruto rolled to the right and hung onto it as hard as he could. He lay there, breathing heavily for a couple minutes. Then he looked downward and saw that it was at least another twenty foot fall from the overhang before he would meet the forest floor. He gathered as much energy as he could and let himself fall from the overhang, then, finally, he hit the forest floor with enough chakra in his legs to stabilize the fall.

The first thing the boy in the orange and blue jumpsuit did was cheer and scream.

"Whoaaaaa!" he exclaimed. "That was INCREDIBLE!"

He put a hand to his forehead and looked up at the cliff which loomed over him.

"No freaking way! I can't even believe we're alive!" he shouted.

And then something occurred to him… "we're" means "two"…so where was the other?

He looked around in all directions.

"Sasuke?" he called.

He recalled seeing Sasuke fall off the overhang to the other direction and ran over to the left side of it.

"Sasuke?"

As Naruto rounded it, his eyes settled on the only thing, except dead leaves, positioned on the forest floor in front of him. A boy lying face-up and motionless. Naruto's playful grin disappeared.

"…Sasuke?" he whispered.

He rushed over, tipping into hysteria again.

"Sasuke!"

He shook him and pushed him back and forth.

"Wake up!"

Sasuke remained motionless. Naruto slapped his face.

"This isn't funny, Sasuke, come on!"

His head lolled over to the side and his eyes remained closed. For once in his life, Naruto stopped talking. He put his hands to his face and closed his eyes.

"This can't be happening…" he whispered.

A very chilly breeze rolled through. The dead leaves shifted and something groaned.

"What the hell are you doing, usuratonkachi?" he asked

Naruto picked his head up in surprise. Sasuke looked up at him with the usual annoyed expression he had on his face. Naruto pulled back himself back into his usual act and rolled his eyes.

"Trying to get _your_ lazy ass up, this is no time to be sleeping." He said, standing back up and throwing his arms behind his head.

"I wasn't sleeping, dobe." He muttered. "The fall must've knocked me out."

"Oh, little baby Sasuke-kun getting knocked out by a fall!" Naruto taunted.

Sasuke sat up and put his arms to the ground. It looked like the chase was going to start all over again…

Naruto braced himself to run but Sasuke didn't move. Instead he stared down at his legs. Naruto sighed.

"Well, get up…come on, let's get back to Kakashi and Sakura. I'm starving." He said.

Sasuke sat there motionlessly.

"Sasuke, seriously-"

"Naruto." Sasuke interrupted.

He turned and looked at him.

"What?"

"I can't feel my legs." Replied Sasuke.

Naruto squinted at him with a "lost" expression on his face.

"What does that mean?"

"What the hell do you think it means?!" Sasuke exclaimed in a shrill voice, finally, turning his eyes to Naruto.

Naruto heard the calmness rushing out of Sasuke's voice, something that had never happened before.

"Okay, okay…just calm down. We can figure it out."

But Sasuke wouldn't calm down.

"I can't move." He said.

Naruto knelt next to Sasuke.

"We just have to call Kakashi Sensei or something."

"I can't move."

"They'll fix it when we get back to the village."

"I can't move!" Sasuke shouted.

"I know that!" Naruto shouted back. "That's why I'm trying to figure something out!"

"What the hell can a dobe like you figure out?!" he shouted back.

The sky was almost completely dark. The only sound was the rushing waves from the rivers around them. Naruto sat in a cross-legged position next to Sasuke who still had not gotten over his panic, together, they waited for night.

Naruto

It's only been a day since we fell from the cliff but it feels like weeks. Sasuke's being such a bastard. He won't even talk to me. He won't say much of anything, really. I think he thinks he'll never be a ninja again. That's a scary thought so I've distracted myself with other things. First off, we ended up sleeping in the middle of the clearing that night. Well, I slept but I don't know if Sasuke did. The first thing I did in the morning was look for a place that could keep us away from the bugs that were eating us alive that night. The overhang created by the rocky depression at the bottom of the cliff, provided a pretty good shelter. I pulled Sasuke deep into it so it was like a cave. Our second night there, I needed a fire. Fires keep bugs away, that was something I learned sleeping out in the forests of Konoha as a kid. But Sasuke was still being an ass. A storm was brewing, it started off as just a light drizzle and then it was beginning to rain, hard with thunder and lightning. I was glad we had protection of our cave, overhang thingy. It was dark, cold and damp.

"Come on, Sasuke, just do your fireball jutsu!" I moaned.

He stared up at the ceiling. The same way he had been doing all day. I gathered some rocks and twigs and made a sport out of throwing them at him. It didn't take long to piss him off.

"Stop!" he shouted.

"Then make the damn fire!"

"Why don't you make it yourself?" he asked.

"I can't do a fire ball jutsu!"

"Too bad!"

We sat there, listening to the thunder scream outside. It was freezing. I snuggled up into my jacket, trying to retain heat. Suddenly, behind me, light filled the cave. I turned and saw that the pile of wood I had collected earlier was bright and orange supporting large flames. I turned to Sasuke who looked away from me. It was things like that I didn't understand about that guy. Things like that that bugged me to no end. Why say no and do it anyway? Why have such a bravado in front of me when you and I both know, you're nothing like that? I'm the last person he should be lying to. I'm not buying any of that crap he tries to pull. He's so indirect it makes my head hurt. It's the number one reason I hate that guy. But at the same time, it makes me really, really appreciate the times he stops acting like an asshole and does something kind for a change.

Our second night there, I slept on one side of the fire and he slept on the other. In the morning, everything was wet and soggy and incredibly foggy. There was almost zero visibility the entire day. The fog from the entire land seemed to settle in the valley we were so unlucky to fall into. Still, I went out. I was incredibly hungry and I knew there were places to find food in such a rainy place. All the big food should be out and about searching for little food, making themselves easy targets. The first thing I did was try to get to the highest tree top that I could. It took almost an entire hour but up there I could see that there was almost no hope for walking. The entire vast forest was surrounded by the rushing rivers, the only way out was back up. We could climb the mountain up…but even then, I had broken off all of the rocky face of the mountain trying not to fall which revealed a lot of smooth rock. Smooth rock left grooves for footing completely absent. It'd be a death trap to climb back up there…even without Sasuke. We were stranded.

"I caught a couple of fish." I said.

I put sticks through two tiny looking fish and hung them over the fire.

"That's your dinner."

Sasuke raised his head.

"Both of them?"

"Yeah, I already had some fruit earlier." I said. "Besides you need meat to get back on your feet so we can get out of here."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"If you're so eager to leave, just leave, get help and come back."

"I told you already, I can't. There are bears in this part of the land." I explained.

"I don't need your sympathy, usuratonkachi."

"I wasn't trying to give you my sympathy." I retorted.

I picked the cooked fish from over the fire and handed the stick to Sasuke.

"Eat it." I ordered.

He rolled his eyes and bit into it. After he'd finished them both, he turned to me again.

"Leave." He said. "Go climb the mountain, go back to the River village where Kakashi and Sakura are and get help for me."

"Nope." I said. "We're going back together."

"I'm more than capable of handling myself." He argued.

I got up and walked to the entrance of the cave and sat over there, leaving him alone. It was like that for the next four days. During the hopelessly foggy days, and the freezing cold nights, all that asshole did was bark orders at me to leave and get help. It became impossible to fish in the fog and the tarantulas I'd been catching and burning over the fire like marshmallows burrowed deeper into the ground with all the rain. Our meat supply was gone fast. And a lack of meat made Sasuke even more irritated…

"The best you could find were these berries?"

Even the berries were hard to find, the majority of them were poisonous.

"Shut-up." I said.

I popped one in my mouth.

"Well, stop saving them all for yourself and hand them over." He said.

"Wait a second!" I yelled.

If I ever ate anything poisonous, I'd throw it up within five seconds of swallowing it. As a kid, I didn't get it at all but now I realize it's the nine tails keeping me alive again. If anyone is a good candidate for being homeless, it's a jinchuriki. I didn't throw it up. I handed it to him and he ate them quickly. When he was finished, he sighed.

"We can't stay here." He said. "Food's running out."

I rolled my eyes.

"You've been eating every day, haven't you?" I asked.

"Yeah, once." He protested.

"Well, then, why don't you go out there and do a better job!?" I exclaimed.

"I would if you didn't break my freaking legs, you idiot!" he retorted.

Thunder boomed, a chilly wind blew in making our fire flicker. I sighed…rain again?

"I didn't break your legs…" I muttered, tearing a branch into pieces.

"You're the one who stole my headband and ran over here and I broke my legs trying to save your stupid ass!" he shouted. "This whole thing is YOUR fault!"

"Shut-up." I muttered.

I balled my fists. I'd been thinking it the whole time. If I wasn't such a prankster, we wouldn't be in this mess. And if Sasuke was really, really hurt and he couldn't ever walk again…what would I do? But still, his attitude was infuriating me.

"Now we're going to starve to death in this hell hole, and it's all because you're an idiot. Nice job."

"You know what?" I said standing up.

He looked up at me, messy stringy hair covering his face. Lightning lit up the sky.

"If it's anyone's fault, it's yours you bastard!" I shouted.

"Do you want the facts again?!" he asked. "You stole my headband, you were the idiot who decided to run backwards and didn't see the cliff coming, you're the one who-

"I just wanted to have fun with you again!" I shouted.

Silence rang out…even the thunder didn't boom. My voice echoed in the cave, stuck on the word "again".

"You bastard…" I muttered. "You're the one who became friends with me and played with me every day and told me you'd never forget…and then you left!"

He stared at me.

"You left me there to rot!" I shouted. "And it hurt…so bad…I just…I just wanted us to go back to a time when you didn't always yell at me and argue with me like you hate me."

Sasuke looked away from me.

"I just wanted…to have fun again." I said, trying to hold back tears.

Sasuke scoffed. I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I don't remember anything like that…" he muttered.

My heart pounded in my ears. All that time, I hadn't heard the thunder but suddenly, right at that moment, lightning lit up the sky again thunder followed soon after it. I felt red, hot vibrant anger rushing up into me, crowding my chest, blinding my vision…

"You liar." I whispered.

"I told you, I don't remember-"

"You're a filthy liar!" I shouted at him. "You told me you were my friend! And then you just left me there for the villagers to hate me, for everyone to pick on me! You left me there and…you became one of them…and you started to hate me and pick on me, too!"

He opened his mouth but I didn't let him get a word in.

"You pretend to be this big shot who doesn't care about anything and is the best at everything and you always put me down and make me feel like I'm not worth shit." I yelled at him. "But I know the truth…I know that…a long time ago, you used to be just like me."

"You used to laugh and play around and…you used to be my best friend. I miss that Sasuke. I miss the Sasuke who…bought me the goggles." I said feeling frustrated. "Why can't you just be yourself again?"

"I am being myself." He said.

"No you're not! You were never like this before!"

"You can't tell me who I am!" he shouted at me. "This is me now! So deal with it!"

He locked eyes with me again, his Sharingan was activated making his glare ultra-angry looking. I held my ground, stared him back down. The lightning flashed behind us. I spat on the ground.

"No." I said. "I'm not taking this shit anymore."

I turned around and walked toward the entrance.

"Where are you going?"

"It doesn't matter." I muttered. "Just as long as I'm not stuck in this stupid cave with a lying asshole like you."

I paused by the entrance.

"I'm done with you." I said, sparing him a single glance. "I hope you starve to death and the worms eat you alive."

"I couldn't care less what you do, you loser!"

"Yeah, well who's the loser now?" I asked. "I can walk!"

Then I turned and ran out into the rain. It took only a couple seconds before I realized the fog and rain made visibility worse than negative ten percent. But out of anger, I continued running. I stopped at the bank of the river and slumped down into a sitting position at the base of a tree. I imagined Sasuke going to the hospital to find out he'd never walk again and I covered my face with my hands. I understood Sasuke's anger completely… It was well deserved. I was an idiot.

Sasuke

"That idiot…" I muttered.

He was coming back wasn't he?

"I'm gonna kill him next time."

If there is a next time…

"This thunder…is so annoying."

Will he be okay out there alone?

"He better come back with food."

Hopefully, he's eating well.

It was morning. The storm was gone. Visibility was still awful. Naruto was nowhere to be found.

"If that asshole really left me here…I'll kill him."

I don't want to be alone.

"You usuratonkachi…"

Don't leave me.

There were a couple of berries still left. I ate them. By the position of the sun outside, I could tell it was around noon. Naruto had to be gone for more than twelve hours. I expected him to be back when I woke up but he wasn't.

"It's not like I care or anything…"

Please, be okay.

Staying in a sitting position all day long has its drawbacks, for one, I keep having to change positions to avoid getting to sore. And because it's so boring sitting down all day, I fall asleep often. The next time I opened my eyes. It was sunset. I didn't see Naruto but I did see a change. On a pile of leaves next to me were more berries.

"At least he brought food…"

Where are you?

My stomach grumbled. I ate the berries in less than five seconds and ached for more food. I wondered if he was sitting out there eating the whole island dry by himself. I wanted more than anything to be free and able to walk but I'd tried several tactics to "shock" my legs into working. None of them were successful. I ended up falling asleep again.

When I woke up, I saw Naruto's dim outline kneeling over me. He was messing with the logs behind me. When he saw that I was awake, he stopped but didn't move away.

"It's no use…all the logs are wet so…it's no use…"

The fire was gone. It was freezing. The bugs were coming back out. It was dark.

"I can just do another fire ball jutsu." I said.

"It won't help…the logs are wet…"

I knew that. I was just feeling desperate. I also knew that because of the low amount of food I'd been eating, I had very little chakra. Not much even for a fire ball jutsu.

"It's gonna…get cold." He said.

"That's obvious." I muttered.

Suddenly, he gripped the collar of his jacket and zipped his jacket down. He pulled it off of himself and then, completely by my surprise, turned around and tucked it around me.

"Stop, I don't need it."

"You do…you need…to heal faster…"

"I'm telling you, stop underestimating me."

"Sasuke…" he said. "Just…take it…"

Suddenly, I realized there was something very strange about the way he was speaking.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"…Nothing…" he said.

He was breathing really heavily and speaking slowly. I reached out and grabbed his arm, he weakly fell over me then struggled to pick himself back up.

"Stop…let go…"

"Tell me what's wrong."

Instead of speaking, he just rolled over onto his back next to me and kept breathing heavily. I put my hand to his forehead.

"You're hot."

"I feel…cold…" he whispered.

"Then take your stupid jacket!"

"No." he protested. "I…I need you to get better…"

"Naruto-"

Suddenly, he laughed.

"I'm…being selfish, okay?" he confessed. "I don't…want…to be held…responsible…if you…never walk again…so, please…"

He grabbed my hand.

"Please…just humor me."

My eyes widened. He lay there, struggling to breath and I was lost for words.

"Let's compromise." I said. "How about we both get under the jacket?"

He opened his eyes and gave me a confused look.

"We'll be warmer if we share body heat." I muttered, trying to seem aloof.

Without another word, he lifted his jacket up, slid under it and hugged me.

"Ahhh, you're warm…thanks, man." He mumbled. "Maybe…you don't…hate me as much now."

I rolled my eyes.

"I never hated you, usuratonkachi."

He was silent. I assumed he'd fallen asleep but I continued talking.

"I just…figured you do better off without me…after Itachi did what he did…I didn't think I could trust anyone again."

"I wanted to wash away everyone from my past." I confessed. "And that included you. I had to turn myself into a new person, to find the courage to go after my brother and kill him… I couldn't be that Sasuke anymore. I had to be strong. I had to be ruthless. I had to be cut-off from everyone. I…I had to be…"

"You can be strong…without…being ruthless, Sasuke."

I looked down at him, surprised that he was still awake.

"Understanding love…doesn't make you weak…it makes you…strong."

I laughed.

"Who taught you something stupid like that? Jiraiya?" I asked.

He paused for such a long time I thought he'd really fallen asleep and then he laughed softly.

"No…you taught me that…Baka-suke."

Kakashi

"Sakura-chan, stop crying. I'll never let anything like that happen."

Sakura stood there clutching a headband and shaking with tears like a mere child. A jounin had just come to deliver the headband. He gave it to Sakura before I could tell him not to.

We stood in the middle of the inn that we'd checked into on their way back from a mission. It was our first long distance mission since the boys went up against Gaara and the Sand after the Chunnin exams. It was a simple C rank mission, just long distance and slightly more dangerous because the Leaf village was left without a Hokage after the Sand betrayal, making Konoha more exposed to attacks. After we delivered the document in the cloud village, we set up to rest and found a small village on the border of the Water and Rock Countries named "Rushing Rivers". It was very well known for its high cliffs like all the villages near the Cloud village had but at the bottom of each cliff, was a dangerously wild rushing river. We stayed at the inn on the end of the top of one of the cliffs and planned to leave the next morning but…

"Naruto, you're such an idiot." Sasuke muttered. "There's no way you could swim in those rivers!"

"Of course I could."

"The current would rip you to pieces, you wouldn't stand a chance."

Naruto stood up.

"I dare you to swim race me then!" he said.

"I'm not doing something stupid like that…"

Naruto seemed to get a bit more pissed off than usual and he walked by Sasuke, seemingly harmlessly and then ripped his headband off.

"Hey!" Sasuke said whirling around.

"You're such a coward, you don't deserve to wear something like this!" Naruto taunted, and then he ran out.

Sasuke, being the hot-head he was, didn't hesitate even for a moment before he bolted after him. At the time, I sighed, chalked it up to their usual bickering and made conversation with the inn helpers. Sakura huffed and puffed at being left alone so she was the one who, slowly, got up and went after them. Two hours later, she came back announcing that no matter where she looked, she couldn't find them. She said she even went down to the base of the cliff but they weren't there. So, together, we searched and searched and searched…and then, because of the rain, we stopped. I wasn't really worried. I had complete faith that they were just exploring or messing around in some way, even if it wasn't like Sasuke, it was surely like Naruto and around Naruto, Sasuke didn't really use his head, so it was very likely. We just went to sleep. Seeing their beds still untouched the next morning is what got me really worried, I summoned my tracking dogs and asked them to look but they said they couldn't find either of their scents anywhere in the entire land. It was as if they'd just disappeared.

"Sakura, we'll find them." I reassured her. "We even called in higher ranking jounin to help. They're searching the place high and low."

The more I thought about it, the more I could come to only one conclusion…they'd gone in the water. The only way my dogs wouldn't be able to smell them is if they were drenched in water…and the only way that could've happened is if they really did race each other in the rushing rivers…

"But…the dogs couldn't find their scent." She protested. "And one of the jounin found...he found…"

Sakura, unable to speak, held the headband out to me.

"Sasuke's…" she whispered.

Sakura was thinking the same thing too. And the fact that a headband was found swirling around in the rushing waters and the hairs on it belonged to Sasuke only added to that conclusion but I wasn't going to believe it. They wouldn't go down that easy. And besides, we hadn't found bodies yet. I put a hand on her shoulder.

"If it makes you feel any better, let's go do a private search, just you and me, one last time, okay?"

Sakura nodded vigorously. We walked out of the inn and toward the edge of the cliff and passed a rocky overpass where a couple of birds nested and at our feet, some squirrels gathered acorns.

"Is this where you think they went?" I asked.

"I think so." She said. "When I followed, I thought I saw footprints here…but I thought I heard their voices in the other direction so I turned and ran that way, but then that was a dead end and they weren't there and…I just couldn't find them anywhere."

Suddenly, my brain started churning. Things started piecing together. No scent…mistaken voices…phantom footprints…

"Of course…" I said. "I should've seen it all along!"

"What?" Sakura said.

"Where was it that you saw the footprints the first time?"

She pointed into the forest.

"But I told you, I heard their voices the other way…I think those were someone else's footprints."

"You're wrong…" I said speeding up.

I dashed in the direction she pointed and ran up onto the edge of the cliff we were on. I peered down to see the broad scope of a forest that sat at the foot of the cliff and all around it were the rushing waters.

"If my conclusion is correct…" I said. "They have to be down there…dead or alive."

It made perfect sense, with water surround the entire place the only way to go is back up and if Naruto was injured from the fall, it'd be nearly impossible for Sasuke to carry him all the way back up and the way the face of the mountain looked…it seemed like they'd already tried and failed. And the cliff side there was a perfect place for echoes…echoes that could've misled Sakura into going away from them instead of toward them. Even more importantly, the rainfall most likely collected in the valley down there, with the amount of rain that had fallen over the past couple of days, it made perfect sense for their scents and footsteps to be erased.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed.

I turned around.

"Look!" she said.

In a bush next to me that hung out over the cliff-side, there was another navy blue headband hanging on the tip of a branch.

"Sakura."

She looked up at me.

"Contact the search team straight away, I think we found 'em."

The most joyful smile I've ever seen spread across her face in that instant but she tried to hide it. She nodded curtly at me and ran off. I stood at the edge of the cliff and then jumped off into the air. The wind rushed past me. The forest got closer and closer.

"Get ready, boys, I'm coming to take you home."

Sasuke

Dawn was breaking…we'd survived the night yet again. That night was the coldest night since we'd gotten stuck down there. Sharing body heat was hardly enough and the jacket was laughable, still, I held Naruto close to me. I felt guiltier than I ever had in my life. If he died right there…would it be alright for his last memory to be of an argument?

"Naruto." I whispered.

He didn't respond. He hadn't moved an inch since he'd fallen asleep.

"I was…really scared when you left earlier." I confessed. "I'm glad that you came back."

The cold wind whipped in and lifted his hair off of his forehead.

"And…I'm sorry that I'm not the same Sasuke that you were best friends with but… But I hope that you'll like the me that's here with you right now…" I said. "I never went back on my promise. You're still…my best friend."

"Sasuke!"

I blinked at Naruto…he wasn't speaking was he? No…that wasn't him… Then who was it? Things were moving slowly. The lack of food was making me delirious. When I turned my eyes to the entrance of the cave, I felt dizzy and disoriented. I tried to focus but my vision kept blacking out.

"Sasuke." The voice said, coming closer.

No! It's someone else…it might be an enemy! My hand found the tool pouch on Naruto's waist band and in seconds, I had a weapon out in front of us pointed at the intruder. I held Naruto close to me with my right arm and pointed the kunai at the person with my left arm.

"Stay…away…" I warned.

"Sasuke, calm down, it's me."

Me? Me, who?

The intruder kept approaching. He reached for me.

"Stay back!" I shouted.

I involuntarily activated my Sharingan which made my eyes focus through the deliriousness of hunger. I was holding the kunai knife out at Kakashi. I sighed and my Sharingan deactivated.

"Oh, it's only you." I said.

"Yes, you've done a good job staying alive down here, Sasuke…" said Kakashi. "And you even protected Naruto."

He motioned to Naruto who I still hadn't let go of.

"You're wrong…he's the one who-"

Suddenly, there were footsteps running outside of the entrance to the cave. Three leaf Jounin rushed in, most of them medical ninja, and they immediately surrounded us.

"It's him alright, this is the description. He's the missing Uchiha." Said the first one.

The male one grabbed me.

"Come on, we'll fix you right up." He said.

He lifted me onto his back and then, all three of them turned around ready to leave.

"Wait." I said.

But they weren't paying any attention…as soon as they rescued me, as far as they were concerned their mission was done. I looked back at Naruto lying there on the ground. Kakashi was distracted by his summoning dogs who were reporting something to him. The medical ninja were leaving. How does it feel…to be invisible even when you're injured?

"Wait!" I screamed.

No one listened.

_You left me there….you left me there to rot._

I jerked out of the man's hold and fell to the ground at the entrance of the cave. He whirled around in shock and tried to pick me up again.

"No!" I shouted. "Him first!"

They all glanced at the boy lying down there as if seeing him for the first time.

"He's fine, he's just sleeping." Said the man.

"No he's not! He needs more help than I do."

He tried to ignore me and pick me up anyway, I whipped the Kunai back out and put it to his neck.

"Him first!" I exclaimed again.

The two female medical ninjas and Kakashi all ran over and surrounded Naruto.

"He's right…this kid looks bad…" said one of the girls.

"We might have to do some emergency treatment right here." Said the other girl. "My god…"

"Satisfied?" said the man.

I felt weak, so weak I could hardly sit up. I dropped the kunai and the man took that moment to lift me onto his back again. I outstretched an arm toward Naruto.

"No." I tried to say.

I was too weak to get the words out…activating my Sharingan and talking excessively depleted all my energy. Kakashi came into my line of sight. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"I'll take care of him." He said. "He'll be fine."

But I was falling into deliriousness again so his words sounded slow and slurred to me. I tried to keep my eyes steady but as he carried me back up the mountain I passed out again.

I heard birds chirping and felt a cool breeze on my face. This breeze wasn't cold…not cold like in the cave. I was somewhere different. I opened my eyes slowly and tried to sit up but my back ached. I leaned back down into the pillows and looked around. I was in a regular hospital room. Suddenly, the dorm swung open and Kakashi swaggered in.

"Finally up?" he said.

"How much time has passed?" I asked.

"It's been three days since we found you, the first day we put you in a hospital in that village and the next day we moved you here. So, this is your first day back in Konoha."

"Where's Naruto?" I asked.

Kakashi smiled.

"I'm surprised your first question wasn't about him."

I waited impatiently.

"He's fine…in the room next door." He said.

Something tickled my foot, I bent my leg and scratched it.

"So, he's alright?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, after they treated him for dehydration and severe chakra depletion."

"How did that happen?" I asked. "He didn't even do one jutsu the entire time we were out there."

"He was starving to death, from the looks of it, he hadn't eaten anything since you guys fell down there."

"No way." I said. "We had meat at first…and then we had berries."

"Yeah, well…you might've had it but he wasn't eating it."

_Understanding love doesn't make you weak, Sasuke, it makes you strong._

"That usuratonkachi…" I whispered.

"And…even more seriously, Naruto has a special case."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, let's just say that…his chakra usage is kind of on a bargain system. It's not free…so if he doesn't feed his chakra…it'll slowly eat him alive. And that's what almost happened."

At that time, I just brushed it off not fully understanding his point but now I see that what he meant was that the Nine Tails inside Naruto will give him chakra and not bother him just as long as he feeds it…but if he, even for a day, stays hungry for too long. The Nine Tails sharing his body will feed on his chakra instead…and the Nine Tails almost completely ate all of Naruto's chakra. That explained why he was always hungry all the time.

Suddenly, something occurred to me.

"Wait, I just moved my legs a second ago." I said, moving them again.

"Yeah, they discovered that issue and called some Byakugan users in here to help. Basically, you hit the ground so hard, you bent your main chakra nerve that distributes chakra to your legs…you didn't actually break your legs. All they had to do was hit the right pressure points. But you're going to feel a little sore."

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, ignoring the pain my back. I walked to the exit, feeling relieved that I could walk again.

"Naruto's not awake yet."

I kept walking without responding.

In the room next to mine, the windows were open and Naruto lay there with the yellowish-orange tint of sunset washing over his bed. Jiraiya sat on the ledge outside of the window reading a book when he saw me enter, he smiled.

"I was just leaving." He said.

And then he jumped from the ledge. I walked toward Naruto's bed and stood over him. He didn't move. My mind flashed back to the argument we'd had. I started it mocking him about the berries…

_The best you can do are these berries?_

I gripped the edge of the bed.

"I even suspected…that you were saving all the good food for yourself and just leaving me the scraps when all that time…all that time…you were spending hours and hours finding food just to give all of it to me."

I bent my head.

"And even more…I had been telling you to leave and get help all that time and you knew there was no way off the island, didn't you? But…still, you kept a calm face in front of me…"

I balled my fists.

"You're such an idiot."

Another breeze rolled in, the bed sheets rustled. I looked up to see Naruto staring right back at me.

"Sasuke…" he whispered, probably still weak from the treatment.

Then he smiled brightly.

"You're standing." He said.

"Standing?" I repeated.

It was almost as if ever since Itachi destroyed everyone and everything I loved and cared about, I'd been knocked to the ground…unable to find my footing, unable to stand up and Naruto had been outstretching his hand to me the entire time. Trying to get me to stand on my own two feet like I used to do, like he believed I could do. And finally, I'd taken his hand.

I scoffed and looked out of the window momentarily, then I turned, ready to leave. Naruto grabbed my elbow.

"Wait!" he said.

"What is it?" I asked without turning around.

"Sasuke, this is has been bugging me for a while but…when I was falling off the cliff…why did you go through so much to save me knowing that you could've been pulled down too?" he asked.

I stared at him. He misunderstood my blank expression as confusion.

"You could've just…let me figure it out myself." He said. "After all…it was all my fault, right?"

As he said that, my mind flashed back to the scene where the terror spread over his face and he fell backwards, letting go of my headband, losing his footing…except this time, I just watched him fall. My stomach dropped. I felt sick at just the thought of it.

I'm sick of seeing the people I care about die. If I could help it, I never wanted something like that to happen again. I pulled out of Naruto's grip and walked toward the door without responding to him.

"Sasuke!" he called. "If you're really mad at me for all of this, I understand…I-"

"Naruto." I said, interrupting him.

He looked up at me, waiting. I paused. The orange tinge in the room was becoming more and more bluish, hinting toward the impending night. I looked at him over my shoulder.

"…Thank You." I said.


End file.
